11 vs 10

[Igor Shulz]

(I'm sure is is frequently asked question.)

We are now using HPUX 10.20 for our corporate database server (K260). Are there
any reasons to migrate on 11.0? Is it stable? Has it any perfomance advantages?

-Igor

[Neil Gast_1]

HP-UX 11.x has some well publicized advantages:
1. Can run as either 32-bit or 64-bit OS
2. Kernel level thread support
3. Dynamic kernel modules
4. Handles VERY large amounts of RAM and shared mem

For databases, the 64-bit OS support and the thread support can add performance
improvements over older versions of HP-UX. Check with your database vendor for
information on these topics.

The OS is pretty stable. I don't have any comparison data against older
versions, but I've worked with HP from version 9.05 on. I would say that 11.x
is the most stable and robust version I've worked with.

MrNeil

[Lennox Joseph]

It would be helpful if we had your system specifications e.g. Memory, CPU 1-4,
Disk Capacity -200Gb - Raid Array Configuration - Mirroring of Root Vg and
Application Data, Kernel Parms etc.
Applications background e.g. oracle 8.0.5?? Informix?? Sybase 11.0??

I would confess that in general running 11.0 would best for system performance
overall.

That said, many things are considered; Is your application 64 bit capable, must
the code be recompiled for 64 bit processing? Are you willing to increase your
physical memory???, What is the current disk capacity threshold??? Are you near
or at maximum capacity??? Are you fully maxed on your CPU's??? Or are you
processing at 30% of your CPU's?? Do you have available expansion slots for
upgrading??? Would you consider upgrading to a 64 bit ready server, such as
the N4000 min 1 360 or 440Mhz processor max 8 procs,512 Sdram min - 16gb max
Sdram, plus many more features. The decision of 10.20 or 11.0 must be weighed
on your environment, your current processing requirements and throughput versus
growth potential over some period of time in the future e.g. next 2 years,
business needs, processing response time and requirements, whether your
application will need to be upgraded to 64 bit processing,
developer/dba/application needs. So many factors are involved, it might be
inevitable to migrate to 11.0 anyway, but
one cannot answer the original question accurately without benchmarking your
environment under both 10.20 and 11.0. Ultimately, if 64 bit processing is a
factor based on your application, then 11.0 will be your choice regardless.
Hope this gives you some background. I've included a URL from HPDOCS check that
out it should give you further information.